The Stupids in the Basement
by Writes By Night
Summary: Sherlock Holmes has one real brother.  And he has seven not real brothers and sisters living in the basement.  Warnings for severe child abuse/neglect
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Stupids in the Basement

Author: Writes By Night

Summary: Sherlock Holmes has one real brother. And he has seven not real brothers and sisters living in the basement. Based off a prompt at the BBC Sherlock kinkmeme.

Rating: R

Warnings: Severe child abuse and neglect

Disclaimer: I do not own, am not associated with, make no money from BBC Sherlock.

1.

"Very good, Susan. And now it's Sherlock's turn. What can you tell us about your family, Sherlock?" And the teacher gave him a big, beaming smile of encouragement. The stare she got back was not so much beaming as piercing. He didn't say anything in return, but the teacher was used to that. Many of the other children in the circle hadn't answered at first either.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked him, still brimming with encouragement and interest and not the slightest bit put off by his intense eyes. Most children had intense eyes at that age anyway. No one could concentrate so completely on a single task or person as a small child could.

"Yes," the boy answered. She beamed even more intensely at this slight response.

"Can you tell us about them?"

The boy hesitated a moment, still staring intently into her. "I have three big brothers and four big sisters. And I have Shrinnia. She is the same size as me."

"Oh," said the teacher, not sure what to say to that, "Do you have a twin sister? And seven big brothers and sisters?"

"Yes," he said, giving her an impatient look that didn't quite fit his face, "Most of them are stupid. So Mummy says they must stay in the basement."

The teacher frowns at this.

"Sherlock," she says reproachfully, "It isn't nice to call people 'stupid'. And are you sure you are telling the truth?"

The little boy looks confused at this, his nose wrinkling up. "People are stupid. That is the truth."

"Well...thank you for telling us about your brothers and sisters. Rory, what can you tell us about your family?"

If her expression was slightly less beaming than before while she made a note by Sherlock's name, well, she still listened raptly while Rory told about his baby brother and his dog.

It was the picture that cemented the need for a parent-teacher conference. They were continuing their theme at picture time and everyone was drawing their family. Most were about what could be expected. Sticks and blobs were dutifully labeled Mum or Dad. The teacher still looked over each drawing as though she were the proud leader of a class of art prodigies.

"Very nice dog, Rory. 'Mummy' is spelled with two m's there, Susan. And what is this?"

_This_ was very decently labeled, at the very least, even for a student accepted to the 'gifted' class of the preschool. Sherlock had written 'The Holmes Family' at the top. The letters might have been a bit crooked but it was spelled perfectly. The expected 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' were the most prominent images. The big blob next to them was called 'Mycroft'. Sherlock himself was a smaller stick figure called 'me'. All very normal so far. It was the others in the picture that looked odd.

'Me' was holding hands with someone almost completely scribbled over with bars inside a box. And at the very bottom of the page, six other stick figures were all drawn with a line over their heads, some too big, some so tiny they could have been dolls. All of them were frowning. The line was labeled 'The Stupids in the basement'. Perfectly spelled, but still quite disturbing. They each had their own names too. The figure behind bars holding Sherlock's hand was called 'Shrinnia'. The six under the label 'Stupids' were called Mycrane, Anthera, Breeder, Girl, Tom and Apple.

"What's this?" the teacher asked, pointing to the poor sad stick figures at the bottom. Sherlock gave her a look that screamed 'can't your read?', but he dutifully pointed to his label and read it out loud.

"We don't call people 'stupids'," she repeated to him again, and again he only looked confused. She gave up on that for the moment. "Sherlock...are these your brothers and sisters?"

"Yes," he said.

"...And they live in the basement?"

"They are too stupid to be Holmeses. The genes didn't work. They are good for...for reading, I think. I named Tom and Apple."

"...I see. And who is this?" She pointed at the girl behind the bars.

"Shrinnia." He was giving her that look again as he carefully pointed to the written label.

"Why is she...is she locked up?" the teacher asked, guessing at what the art was trying to show.

"No one knew she was a stupid," Sherlock explained, "Not until the test. Then she was a stupid and lives in the basement."

"Are you sure this isn't a make believe story?" the teacher asked.

"Like a fairy tale?" Sherlock asked. He didn't look like he was making up stories. He looked confused.

So she called a meeting with his mother. Because there had to be an explanation for this. The child couldn't really have a whole hoard of siblings being kept in a basement. And of course he didn't. Mrs. Holmes explained everything.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

Mrs. Holmes spoke with difficulty, long fingers lightly brushing across her child's drawing. She was a delicate beauty, Mrs. Holmes, the sort of woman one expects to swoon in old novels while wearing ridiculous layers of lace.

"I can't imagine where he learned of them," she said, her cold white features looking distressed.

"Mrs. Holmes...how many brothers and sisters does Sherlock have?" The teacher was sympathetic but determined.

"One...living," Mrs. Holmes answered. "He did have a sister...a twin sister. But she died...nearly a year ago..." A long, pale finger brushed gently over the mess of scribbles labeled 'Shrinnia'. The teacher made sympathetic noises, but of course that only explained half the picture.

"And the...the other children? Sherlock said they were...well, you can see. He calls them the stupids in the basement."

"I don't...I don't know where he...I didn't think he knew. About his brothers and sisters..." She looked quite distraught, reading over each name. Then she took a deep breath and composed herself. "We had such trouble...after Mycroft. As I said, he has one living brother. The rest...they died. Before they were born. I had just about given up before Sherlock and...and Shrinnia."

"Children hear things sometimes and get the strangest notions," the teacher said, feeling both sympathy at the weight of her tragedy and relieved that there was an explanation. "He does have a wonderful imagination."

"I will talk to him. I'll make sure he understands."

So Mrs. Holmes explained to Sherlock that no one lived in the basement and that his brothers and sisters were in heaven. After that, when someone asked again about his family, Sherlock said he had one brother. One real brother. And seven not real brothers and sisters. But then, many children had imaginary friends. Having a good imagination is part of having a brilliant mind. And Sherlock most certainly had that.

Mummy explained but she didn't discuss. So Sherlock knew that his brothers and sisters were not real because Mummy told him. If they had discussed it, rather than it being explained, many things might have come to light. Like the fact that, although little boys without keys or a proper reach could most certainly not possibly open the door to the basement, a particularly adventurous little boy could fit into other places that might be overlooked by someone too big to use them.

It wasn't easy, even for adventurous little boys. But when Mummy took away his little sister and then Mycroft, in a fit of older brother annoyance, told him to stop pestering him before he locked him with the other stupids in the basement...well...he was inspired to try. He heard Mummy saying Shrinnia was stupid. She was crying and Sherlock wasn't meant to hear. Father consoled her that she still had two brilliant perfect sons. And if the stupids lived in the basement, then Shrinnia must be there.

Shrinnia didn't like dark, scary places. Maybe, just maybe, Sherlock could find her and teach her to not be a stupid any more.

If Sherlock had been any older or any less brilliant he never would have found a way in. Because if he had been older, he would have thought that Mycroft was just teasing and his sister was just gone. If he had been any less brilliant, he would probably have tried to get through the door. He would have failed and most likely gotten caught. But he was young and he was brilliant, and he had noticed that there was one item that was in every single room in the house: a vent. And as it turned out, he was just the right size to fit inside.

As luck would have it, Sherlock was not claustrophobic. And if it was a bit scary and a bit dark...well...he kept imagining Shrinnia lost inside.

If Mummy had ever thought to ask Sherlock if he had been in the basement or met his brothers and sisters, it would have most likely all come out. Sherlock still hadn't gotten the hang of secrets or lies. Mummy never asked. And if Sherlock did sometimes tell anyway, no one really listened.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

"Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear...round and round the garden, like a teddy bear...round and round the garden, like a teddy bear..."

"And C is for 'cat'. cuh, cuh, cat."

"...round and round the garden, like a teddy bear, Round..."

"Cuh, cuh, see? cuh aah ttuh."

"Round and round the garden, like a teddy..."

"Cuh.."

"Shutupshutupshutupshutup!"

"No! Bad Girl! No hitting! Listen to Shlock. Listen, listen."

"Round and round and round and round and round and round..."

"Shh, shh, baby, shhhh."

"D is for dog. duh, duh oo gguh"

"Shlock, Shlock, the dogs do bark."

"...round and round and round..."

"What's that? What's that?"

"An egg, Apple. E is for egg."

"What's that? What's...no! No touch!"

"Sorry, no touching. That's egg. You eat eggs. For breakfast."

"What's that?"

"...round and round the garden, round and round the garden, like a teddy bear..."

"Breeder has eggs, eggs they want to steal, stole away, steal away, bad, rotten eggs."

"What's that?"

"...like a teddy bear..."

"E is for egg. F is for fish."

"Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear. One fish, two fish...like a teddy bear. Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear."


End file.
